|
|
|
June 9th, 2009
08:50 pm - On climate change and the developing world
When I was in Somalia, I was astounded at the repeated failed harvests of their main crops, sorghum and cowpea. Given this, why do people even bother planting a crop? Surely it's not even worth getting out the hoe, I thought. At the time, I thought that the problem was that the land was just prone to drought. "No", a senior Somali staff member told me, "it is climate change. I heard about climate change on BBC radio, and this is climate change". Surely not, I thought.
He went on to explain that rain now fell at the 'wrong times' of the year. There was meant to be one long rainy season and one short rainy season in the year. But now, rain was falling even in the dry season. And sometimes the short rainy season had more rain than the long rainy season. Sometimes, it would stop raining for too many days during the rainy season, and the crop would fail. So even if the annual rainfall was the same, rainfall patterns were making cropping difficult.
He had a point, I thought. So I mentioned to the head office that we really should be commissioning a study about this through the Horn of Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya). Well, imagine my uncontrollable bouncing excitement when I saw that a study was published that looks into this exact issue (though it was not done by us, but a mob with considerably more resources). And the study, Croppers to livestock keepers: livelihood transitions to 2050 in Africa due to climate change, makes pretty much the same recommendation that we came to through instinct: for affected areas, move away from growing crops, and start rearing drought-hardy animals such as camels and goats. And there is a nifty map in there that shows the areas most prone to change in the coming decades. (If the scientific paper is too filled with jargon and graphs, try the user-friendly IRIN article instead.)
The solution sounds easy -- trade in your sorghum seeds and hoe for a herd of camels. But how are they going to get hold of a herd of camels when they have been impoverished by drought? Also, in a larger scale, another problem arises: cropping can provide more food per hectare than pastoralism can. Effectively, our 'holding capacity' for people would go down. Where do people move to? Like it or not, it's likely to result in conflict, like seen with Nigeria's pastoralists.
Alas, climate change is having a very real impact on people in the developing world, as Duncan Green, Head of Research at Oxfam GB constantly blogs about. As this map from New Scientist shows, developing countries get hit pretty bad. Mozambique knows what it's in for, and says that climate change adaptation can't wait. Too right.
Friends, it's begun. If you are an aid worker (and more so if your work is in livelihoods, water supply and sanitation or health), I urge you to understand climate change and its impacts. If you design a project, include adaptation features. Just as you mainstreamed gender, do no harm and protection, mainstream climate change. And more.
Current Location: Canberra, Australia
|
March 19th, 2009
09:23 pm - Beneficiary targeting by textbook
In a frantic attempt to brush up on the current aid jargon, I have hit various aid publications with the vigour of a university student swotting before exams. This afternoon, I read about how to target effectively to reach the poorest households. What we would try to do is clear: try to make sure that all the poor are targeted (ie., minimize exclusion error) and make sure that people who aren’t poor aren’t targeted (ie, minimize inclusion error). How are we meant to do this? Through a tight definition of our target with clear eligibility criteria, and using an appropriate targeting mechanism.
Which reminds me of our cash-for-work project in Somalia. We used what the paper calls a hybrid community-based approach with a combination of having strict selection criteria, then asking the communities to do the selecting on who fits into these criteria. In our case, the criteria were:Less than x number of goats or x number of camels
Less than x area of land
Less than x amount of remittances or cash income In this case, the amounts for each were determined by each community. To limit the number of beneficiaries, we also then put a cap on the number of beneficiaries, which was typically set at a third of the number of households of each target village. Once these criteria were set, then the village elders would get together and put the list of beneficiaries together. The list would be then read out at a public meeting where all community members and NGO representatives were present. The meeting would serve as a process for accountability and cross-checking. Sometimes, the meetings would get messy. Two years ago, a gunfight broke out. But usually, only fisticuffs and herding sticks.
But anyhow, in theory, our method for selecting beneficiaries was picture perfect. Theoretically speaking, we should have got the poorest third of households in each village. Each selected beneficiary household proudly had a cash voucher with their household head's name on it. The donor loved our beneficiary selection methodology. They even told other NGOS to use the same methodology.
In practice, I'm not sure what happened. Last October, during my final trip to Somalia, I went out to talk to beneficiaries the day before the cash payment was due. "What will you do with the money you earnt?", I asked. Invariably, they told me that they would share it with another three to five households. Typically, four others. Apparently, people said that the amount of money was so large (EUR50) and the need within the community was great. They did not feel that one family should be entitled to the grant. So they would share it five ways. Each family receiving a measley sum of EUR10. Just enough to buy a sack of sorghum, and that's all.
I was furious! Our careful targeting was a waste of time! Plus, I was convinced that the elders were placing pressure on the poor to share their money. But a colleague pointed out a few valuable points to me. Somali culture, she said, was sophisticated and nuanced in its coping mechanisms and sharing of resources. The fact that the poor families shared this precious cash probably meant that, later on, they could call on the other four households to support them in lean times. And perhaps, this way, even though they 'gave away' EUR40, they essentially leverage much more in future support. Or perhaps, they were just bullied and their money taken away.
Alas, I couldn't learn of such unintended outcomes in textbooks and papers!
Current Location: Canberra, Australia
|
December 13th, 2008
12:13 pm - Carbon copies go walkabout
When in Somalia, I had heard anecdotally that many of the 'carbon copies' were deserting. 'Carbon copies' are what the Somalis call their fellow countrymen who were trained by the Ethiopian forces. Carbon copies of the Ethiopans. A derogatory term.
Apparently, the UN has now reported that More than 80% of Somalia's soldiers and police - about 15,000 members - have deserted, some taking weapons, uniforms and vehicles. Also, the BBC reports that "most of the Somali government's security budget - supposedly 70% of its total budget - disappeared through corruption". And the whole problem is that all the skills, weapons, vehicles and money is then used to fuel the ongoing conflict, whether it be through insurgents or pro-TFG warlords.
And surely anyone who has spent any time working on or in Somalia could have predicted this would occur?
Current Location: Canberra, Australia
|
October 24th, 2008
06:46 pm - End of the one-month water catchments
During my first trip to Somalia, I was mortified at the design of the water catchments that were dug as part of a Cash-For-Work intervention. I'm not a water engineer, but nonetheless, I asked, "You call this a water catchment?".
So I went about asking the engineers for advice. And with the help of an amazing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) evaluator from Malawi, we got a few rules figured out:
1. We should not dig new water catchments, as we do not know what the soil is like underneath. Water catchments need clay soil to retain water. If the soil is sandy, it will leak like a sieve. So, it's better to expand existing water catchments.
2. Know where the clay layer ends, and don't dig past it. And if you do, patch it up by putting more clay over it.
3. Given that evaporation in Somalia is 1.5 m per year, it's best to have the water catchments deeper and narrower rather than shallow and wide.
4. Think of how to improve water quality and not just quantity. So think of adding a sedimentation trap / settling pool to reduce soil and animal droppings from entering. Also think of animal troughs or an infiltration well for human consumption.
5. Improve the capture of water by rehabilitating or extending inlets.
So, we proceeded and worked on more catchments in the last dry season. And with my visit last week, I was able to visit two that were just dug. This one is a whopping four metres deep. And the villagers reckon that the water will now last them twelve months, whereas only six months before. I think it's optimistic. But perhaps nine months? Nonetheless, a shitload better than the one-month water catchments we used to dig.
For more of my Somalia photos, click here.
Current Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/growf/smileys/smile.gif) pleased
|
September 25th, 2008
12:52 pm - Reflections on hand-shaking
I once thought that hand-shaking is a universal symbol of warmth, welcome and friendship. So all over the world, I would offer my hand.
It was first in Afghanistan that I learnt that some men may not like to shake my hand. Because I am a woman, and contact between sexes is a no-no. So instead, those who did not want to shake my hand would put their right hand to their heart as a greeting. So it was clear who would shake my hand or not, and my hand was never left suspended mid-air in tragic rejection.
But in Somalia, there isn't a hand-on-heart practice. So recently, my hand was left in the tragic mid-air pose in Mogadishu's K50 airport. My Somali colleague rejected my handshake! I have to say, I had a surprising emotional reaction to this. I felt sub-human, unworthy and dirty. Then angry and sulky. Then guilty for being intolerant of my Muslim colleague's preferences. I was all awash with emotion!
And then I went out to Somali villages, and found that some young children and women refuse to shake my hand too! Like the kids in this photo. They stared at me for ages. And when I offered my hand in friendship, they fled in terror. Then they dared each other to shake my hand. Like a game. So now it's a game I play with children in each village I visit. In one village, the first person who dared to shake my hand was an elderly woman with a heavily lined face. She looked into my eyes and had a huge warm smile.
I asked my Somali colleagues why the kids don't want to shake my hand. I have to say I wasn't prepared for the reply. "Haven't you noticed," said my colleague, "that your skin is the colour of a dead person?".
Hmmm, no, I hadn't!
Current Location: Nairobi, Somalia
Current Mood: tee!
|
September 10th, 2008
08:48 am - A drought harvest
Three weeks ago, I attended a presentation by the FSAU on their Post-Gu season survey. The FSAU survey found that that the harvest in Bakool, Somalia, the area I work in, was 5% of a normal harvest.
This week, we have completed our own data analysis. We found that most agro-pastoralist families have only harvested enough to feed their families for two weeks. This food is already gone. Yet, it was meant to last till mid-December. So, the families have already started to sell their animals and other productive assets. The price of goats will fall soon, as everyone starts selling their goats.
Food aid is on its way, we say. But logistical problems keep the team from starting the distribution. In the meantime, a child died last week in our therapeutic feeding centre. And admissions into the TFC keep rising.
Current Location: Nairobi, Kenya
|
September 1st, 2008
05:34 pm - Hormuud or the Imam?
It's the first day of Ramadan. Many climbed to the top of roofs last night to see if they could see the moon. But no moon was in sight.
"Did the local imam say he saw the moon? Did he announce that Ramadan has started?", asked my French colleague of our Somali colleague. "No," was the reply, "But Hormuud [a Somali mobile phone company] had a text message at midnight saying that Ramadan has started".
Wtf?
Yep, it would appear that we are in a new age. The start of Ramadan is no longer announced by the local imam, but by the local mobile phone company.
Current Location: Bakool, Somalia
|
August 21st, 2008
07:43 am - Latrine hegemony
When last in Somalia, I had the wonderful opportunity to accompany an external evaluator around the countryside as he evaluated various WASH (water supply, sanitation and hygiene) interventions. So, of course, we visited many pit latrines.
And this latrine, I have to confess, gave me the giggles. The families who own this latrine made a door of flattened oil tins. And these oil tins were given as food aid by the people of the USA.
And I will be blogging more photos in the coming days. But in the meantime, if you want a sneak preview, you can look here.
Current Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Current Mood: tee!
|
June 25th, 2008
10:59 am - Doom and gloom for Somalia's rainfed cropping
I have been doing a bit of reading. It appears that rainfed cropping in Somalia is pretty much a lost cause. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (2001) report, Farming Systems and Poverty describes the sorghum agropastoral farming system as such:This farming system occupies 198 million ha (8 percent) of the land of the region, generally in the semiarid zone of West Africa from Senegal to Niger, and in substantial areas of East and Southern Africa from Somalia and Ethiopia to South Africa. It has an agricultural population of 33 million (8 percent) and their density is modest, but pressure on the limited amount of cultivated land is very high. Crops and livestock are of similar importance. Nearly 22 million ha are used for crops – 12 percent of the cultivated land in the region. Rainfed sorghum and pearl millet are the main sources of food and are rarely marketed, whereas sesame and pulses are sometimes sold. Land preparation is by oxen or camel, while hoe cultivation is common along riverbanks. The system contains nearly 25 million had of cattle as well as sheep and goats. Livestock are kept for subsistence (milk and milk products), offspring, transportation (camels, donkeys), land preparation (oxen, camels), sale or exchange, savings, bridewealth and insurance against crop failure. The population generally lives permanently in villages, although part of their herds may continue to migrate seasonally in the care of herdboys.
The main source of vulnerability is drought, leading to crop failure, weak animals and the distress sale of assets. Poverty is extensive, and often severe. The potential for poverty reduction is only moderate. Agricultural growth potential is also modest and presents important challenges. ( Read more... )
Current Location: Nairobi, Kenya
|
June 20th, 2008
05:05 pm - Why don't Somali farmers plough?
The NGO I am working for has spent the last three years training Somali farmers about 'improved agricultural technique' for their sorghum. What's this about? Well, namely telling farmers that they should plough their land and sow the seeds a row. Why? This is meant to improve germination of the sorghum, and enhance growth by 'bringing the nutrients out'.
So for three years, the NGO workers have gone out and trained farmers. Some adopt the methods, but many don't. The activity is a failure, and farmers don't want to fund it anymore. So in my last visit, I asked one of the NGO workers why they don't plough their land. The answer? "They don't have camels to plough the land with". In fact, they tell me, "Farmers know they should plough the land. And if they had camels, they would definitely plough!".
Aha! A tiny oversight of ours. No animals mean that they have to do so by hand and hoe. It's a long and tedious exercise. And mind you, this is not high-value crop like rice or wheat, where there can be 4 - 6 metric tonnes per hectare yield. This is sorghum. The yield is about 0.3 - 0.4 metric tonnes, less than a tenth the yield. Not really worth getting the hoe out, if you ask me. And how much can one work on with hand and hoe anyway?
We are humbled by our misdiagnosis of the problem. We thought it was a lack of knowledge, but it is a lack of draught animals. But now what next? We can't go around giving away camels! They cost about USD300-500 each, depending on size and age of the camel. It's too expensive, and will lead to local jealousies. An option is oxen, but still, they cost about USD150 each. And oxen aren't as hardy. Unlike camels and goats, they can't eat the prickly native shrubs and need sorghum leaves as fodder, nor drink the salty water in the wells. Thus, they are more likely to get sick and die in a drought.
I've been sitting here wondering what we can do. Each option gets struck off the list as impractical, too expensive, too sensitive, too inappropriate, too something or other. Any ideas, brains trust?
Current Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/growf/smileys/confused.gif) befuddled
|
June 15th, 2008
07:03 pm - You call this a water catchment?
When in south central Somalia, I saw this water catchment which was dug as part of a Cash-For-Work programme with the NGO I am working for. As you can see, it is completely ineffective as a water catchment.
Because it is so wide and shallow, there is a lot of infiltration (water seeping into the ground) and evaporation (water evaporating from the surface). The result? The water only lasted one month. Yet, it is meant to provide water through the dry season.
I asked the NGO staff why they chose this design, which was too wide and shallow. Furthermore, it has steep sides. They said this was the design the beneficiaries wanted. No shit. Of course they would want to only dig the top 1 m of soil, given that it would be the easiest part to dig. There was also mention that they wanted something shallow so that if a child falls in, he or she can still stand. This is not a valid reason given that a toddler can drown in 20 cm of water. And besides, if this was the valid concern, then surely the sides should be sloping?
Needless to say, I'm going to change the design.
Current Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/growf/smileys/blah.gif) disappointed
|
June 13th, 2008
09:28 pm - Another hungry season
Back in Nairobi now. And what struck me on the way from the airport is how lush and green it is here. In contrast, Somalia is in a drought. The Gu rainy season is just drawing to a close, and the rains have been poor.
See this sorghum? It is meant to be at shoulder height by now. Yet this is only about 20 cm high. It's going to be another hungry season.
And more photos of Somalia can be seen here.
Current Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/growf/smileys/tired.gif) tired
|
|
|
